Representative Government
What is representative government?
A system where citizens elect officials to make decisions on their behalf.
Define limited government in one sentence.
Government whose powers are restricted by law or constitution.
Which document lists key individual rights that influenced American colonists before the Revolution?
Magna Carta or English Bill of Rights.
What was the primary governing document of the U.S. between 1781 and 1789?
Articles of Confederation.
Name one Enlightenment thinker who influenced the Founding Fathers.
Examples: John Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire.
Define free enterprise in one sentence.
An economic system where private individuals own resources and businesses operate with limited government interference.
Give one example from colonial America that shows early representative government.
Colonial assemblies (e.g., Virginia House of Burgesses).
Explain how federalism acts as a structural limit on national authority.
Federalism divides power between national and state governments, preventing centralization.
Name one right protected by the First Amendment.
Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, petition.
Name one major weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
Weak central government, inability to tax, no executive, no national judiciary.
What political idea is John Locke best known for that influenced American founding documents?
Natural rights and government by consent; right to revolt against unjust government.
Describe one way the Constitution protects property and commerce.
Contract clauses, the Commerce Clause, and protections for property rights (e.g., Article I, Section 8 powers).
Explain how the Virginia House of Burgesses influenced later U.S. institutions.
House of Burgesses provided precedent for bicameral legislatures and representative deliberation.
Argue whether the Bill of Rights was intended primarily to limit the national government or to shape state behavior in the early Republic
Early ratification debates: Federalists argued national protections unnecessary vs. Anti‑Federalists demanded explicit rights (led to Bill of Rights).
Explain the difference between natural rights and positive rights with examples.
Natural rights: inherent (life, liberty); positive rights: created by law (public education).
Describe the Great Compromise and the problem it solved.
Great Compromise created bicameral legislature: House by population, Senate equal representation.
Summarize Montesquieu’s argument about separation of powers in one sentence.
Montesquieu argued powers should be divided among branches
Which constitutional clause gives Congress power to regulate interstate commerce?
Which constitutional clause gives Congress power to regulate interstate commerce?
Evaluate how fears of faction shaped the Founders' design of representative institutions (use Federalist arguments).
Federalists argued institutions (large republic, separation of powers) would control factions; Anti‑Federalists feared elite capture and loss of local control.
Compare the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution in their approaches to raising revenue and commanding a military.
Articles: states retained taxing power; national government requested funds. Constitution: Congress given power to tax and raise an army.
400 — How did the English Bill of Rights influence American protections against arbitrary power?
These documents limited monarchic power and guaranteed trials, due process, and limits on excessive fines.
Explain the Three‑Fifths Compromise and its political consequences.
Three‑Fifths Compromise counted enslaved persons as three‑fifths for representation and taxation, increasing Southern representation.
Explain Rousseau’s concept of the social contract and how it differs from Locke’s.
Rousseau emphasized general will and direct popular sovereignty; Locke emphasized property and consent of the governed.
how the structure of the Constitution balances support for free enterprise with the need for regulation, using historical examples.
Constitution protects commerce (interstate commerce powers) and property, while granting Congress regulatory authority (e.g., commerce and taxing powers) enabling federal regulation when necessary.